1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a prefabricated bow product, to a process of manufacturing a prefabricated bow product, and to an apparatus for carrying out the process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Known prefabricated bow products made of plastic consist of two strips and are formed with notches, which define an end portion and a plurality of loop-forming portions. Such bow products comprise between the strips at least one tape and the strips and the tape are firmly joined in the end portion and at the notches are loosely held together by an almost annular clip. Other known prefabricated bow products made of plastic consist of a strip, which has notches, which define a plurality of loop-forming portions. A tape extends along the strip and at the notches is loosely held together with the strip by substantially annular clips. Such prefabricated bow products are used for decorative purposes, e.g., in the packaging of presents. The bow products have the advantage in that they are manufactured as a multilayer strip for storage and transportation and can readily be transformed into a highly decorative bow in order to form the loops. To do so, it is sufficient to simply grasp the bow product firstly described hereinabove at one free end and to grasp the bow product lastly described hereinabove at both free ends of the narrower tape and to push the substantially annular clips together and toward the end portion. The known prefabricated bow products generally consist entirely of plastic, in most cases of polypropylene, so that in the manufacture of the prefabricated bow products the joint at the end portion can simply be made so that the superimposed strips and tapes are welded together by means of welding jaws which move toward each other.
The prefabricated bow products described hereinabove have previously been made by tedious manual work. Whereas the strip or strips are formed with alternate notches by machine in the previous practice, the joints connecting the strip to the pulling tapes and to any second strip are made by hand and that job is presently performed in low-wage countries as piece work.
From an ecological aspect, it is increasingly required that all-plastic products be substituted with materials which are more friendly to the environment. This is mainly due to the fact that plastic products which, after use, are placed on a dump will give rise to problems.